Top 3 Business Problems – November

At Business Talent Group, we help clients address business problems across different industries and functions.

At this time of year, much of our work is focused on helping execs get things done before 2016 is over — and ensuring a strong finish.

Here are this month’s top three business problems, which are all focused on year-end initiatives we’re helping clients complete:

Addressing Complexity in R&D Contracting

As a global pharma company grew, so too did the complexity of its R&D contracting needs. Demand from R&D was straining current processes, and internal teams were struggling to avoid delays while managing multiple stakeholders and fulfilling all process requirements. Internal work had identified several issues, but no clear resolutions. The head of R&D Business Operations turned to Business Talent Group.
Our consultant—a Bioengineering PhD and former Sr. Engagement Manager at McKinsey—began by helping the company synthesize likely root causes of the strain, working with stakeholders from legal, compliance, procurement, and R&D. Then he developed a short-term remediation plan to address key pain points, identifying performance metrics and suggesting process changes.

Putting a Big Strategy Into Action

Regulations added inefficiency to the most profitable products of a F500 Financial Service client’s public finance group. A Big Three consulting firm had diagnosed the most pressing issues. But the Head of Transformation was struggling to map those improvements onto their own operations.
Business Talent Group put together a three-person team to help the transformation group put the consulting firm's strategy into action and increase productivity while mitigating risk. Our project lead was a former Big Three consultant and lean process expert; thanks to his background, he was able to quickly pick up where the consulting firm left off. Supporting him were a six sigma capacity management specialist and an experienced financial analyst.
The consulting firm had outlined improvements, but no clear steps to take. So Business Talent Group's team began by examining KPIs across five different sectors in the group. Then they analyzed everything from sequencing to capacity, and designed an end-to-end process that could deliver on the client’s goal of improving profitability by 20%. Finally, they led a pilot of their plan in the local government sector.

Global Trends in Children's Media

A children's focused CPG company was shifting its business model to better capture opportunities in the entertainment and lifestyle spaces. The company's strategy team had laid out a comprehensive plan for communicating and delivering on the new approach. But the Head of Marketing needed to deepen her understanding of global trends in children’s media to more effectively target those markets.
Business Talent Group's three-person team was led by a senior media executive who'd helped launch dozens of new ventures in digital and traditional media. Together with two other independent media specialists and the client's internal team, she researched trends in markets that included Western Europe, the US, China, Mexico, and Brazil. What content are kids watching most? How and when do they watch, and who are the key players in each market? After completing this analysis, the Business Talent Group team helped the client prioritize the geographies that were most promising for content development and distribution.

Leah Hoffmann

Leah Hoffmann is BTG's Marketing & Content Strategist. A former journalist, Leah worked for Forbes.com and The Economist before joining BTG. She is passionate about clear thinking, sharp writing, and strong points of view.